The Forgotten
by SilentRanger777
Summary: We are the forgotten. There was no place for us at Camp Half-Blood, so we struck out on our own, we have become one of the strongest fighting forces in existence. We are the forgotten
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I am not Rick Riordan, I do not own the Percy Jackson or Heroes of Olympus Series.**

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The fighting was like none he had ever seen, everywhere he turned their seemed to be half a dozen monsters all wanting to gut him. More than one monster learned how dangerous this particular demigod could be. He was a blur of motion: monster after monster fell before his blade. The celestial bronze blade cut through the monsters like a hot knife through butter, yet it never seemed to be enough. With a flick of his wrist and lightning fast swing, a Laistrygonian turned to ashes in the wind. A hell hound leaped, ready to sink its teeth into his neck, only to get a mouthful of sword. Finally, the crowd of monster around him thinned out until all the monsters around him were nothing but dust-piles. Seeing no more monsters in his vicinity he tried to think of a nearby spot where he might be needed. The first spot that came to mind was Lincoln Tunnel; Percy had assigned Artemis' Hunters to that tunnel. As fast as his legs could take him, he bolted towards the tunnel. As he ran the sounds of battle assailed his ears: metal hitting metal; People screaming; Monsters dying. He tried as best he could to ignore the sounds. As soon as he reached the tunnel entrance he could see things looked bad; the hunters had set up a barricade of cars at the entrance, which they used as cover and shot arrows from. Monsters were trying to swarm over the barricade but most were dealt with swiftly. Suddenly, an explosion sent several cars and huntresses flying. The monsters attempted to take advantage of the breach but were repelled by the hunters, but the hunters were hard pressed. Hurriedly he singled out the girl that seemed to be coordinating the defense; he sprinted over.

"Thalia Grace?"

The girl turned to face him, and he sized her up in an instance, he knew for a fact that she was fifteen years old, two years younger than he was, but she possessed a fiery determination in her eyes not often seen in one her age. "What is it boy?"

He rolled his eyes, she hadn't been lieutenant of the hunters for long, but she had already picked up some of their tendencies, like referring to the entire male population as 'boy'.

"What's the situation here? How can I help?"

"We're holding, but there's a tank in there that's ripping apart what's left of the barricade. We managed to cripple the treads on it, but it's still firing at us."

Quickly a plan formed in the demigod's mind. "Do you have any Greek fire, or any explosives of any kind?" He didn't like his plan, but it was the only one he could think of. Thalia motioned towards a crate further behind the barricade. "Listen closely, I need you and your hunters to set charges in the tunnel, if we can't hold these monsters back, we'll close this tunnel for business."

Thalia shook her head. "We can't set anything with that tank firing." As if to prove the point, another explosion ripped through the barricade, knocking them both of their feet. Quickly the demigods jumped back up.

"Don't worry about the tank; I'll take care of it." Out of his belt he pulled a round object. Thalia's eyes widened as she realized what he intended to do.

"You're going to drop a grenade down their chimney?! You're nuts!"

The demigod only smiled. "So I'm told, you just make sure those charges are set." His sword in his right, grenade in his left he was about to run through a breach in the barricade when Thalia stopped him.

"Wait! Who are you? I don't recognize you."

"Mark!" and with that he charged through the breach, slashing, and hacking his way through the seemingly endless waves of monsters. After what seemed an eternity he reached the tank. In a two bounds he was on top of the tank. The monster sitting in the hatch let out several growls and hisses which Mark assumed meant 'get off' as the monster tried to take his legs out with a sword. In a flash of movement Mark kicked the monster in the face, pulled the pin on the grenade, dropped it down the hatch, slammed the hatch shut, and jumped off. On the outside of the tank, the only evidence of the grenade was the smoke coming out of the tank barrel. Smiling with satisfaction he turned back towards the hunters, who were finishing with the explosives and were beginning to funnel out of the tunnel. Suddenly, searing hot pain shot through his leg. With a cry he stumbled to the ground, looking back he saw an arrow had pierced the lower part of his left leg.

"At least it didn't hit me in the knee; I'd have to become a guard or something." He commented. As he tried to walk back the pain in his leg intensified, causing him to stumble again: reducing him to crawling. As he looked back he saw a fresh wave of monsters heading towards him and the rest of the hunters. As he continued crawling towards the hunters he heard one of them yell.

"The trigger! Where's the trigger?!"

At first he couldn't understand what she was talking about, but as he looked around he saw a cylindrical object about five feet ahead of him. Summoning reserves of his dying energy, he eventually reached the object, grabbing it. As he held it in his hand he finally understood its purpose, to blow up the tunnel. Weakly, he used a nearby car to help him stand. He looked back at the incoming army, then at the hunters, then at the trigger in his hand. There wasn't enough time; he knew he couldn't get out of the tunnel before Kronos' army was right on top of him. Solemnly, he placed his hand on the side of his sword, causing it to immediately turn into a swiss army knife, which he placed into his pocket. He looked straight at the hunters at the end of the tunnel, defeat written plainly on his face. Then, his face changed, into that of stubborn defiance of fate. He nodded once to the hunters then turned to the advancing army. Ignoring the pain in his leg he stood tall and proud, defying the army in front of him. Thalia, recognizing what he was about to do, tried to run to him but two other hunters grabbed her.

"Mark! No!"

Her plea went unheaded. As the front of the army began encircling him, he brought the trigger to his chest.

"Πείτε Άδη είπα και Γεια σας!" He pushed the trigger, and the world exploded.

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The Hunters of Artemis watched as Mark pushed the button on the trigger. With a roar the interior of the tunnel exploded. As the roof collapsed water came rushing in, sounding like a thousand toilets flushing at once. As the rubble settled the water began flooding the entire tunnel. Solemnly, the hunters turned from the scene; there was much more to be done: the battle wasn't over yet.

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As the sun rose, Calypso walked the circumference of her island, as she did most every day. Most days were the same, taking care of the plants, walking the island, and having very one-sided conversations with her servants. Most days came and went with little variety, though sometimes a god might visit her with the latest happening in the world, and the occasional demigod adventurer, though she tried not to think about them, it only made the pain worse. As she came to the end of her walk she noticed something in the distance lying in the sand. Quickly, she ran to the spot, and gasped, there on the sand lay the broken body of a demigod.

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**A/N: Hi guys! My first FanFiction is here! If you have any great plot or OC ideas I'm all ears! Just PM them to me and we'll see what happens. Advice is good, flaming is not.**

**Translations, characters, and creatures**

**Πείτε Άδη είπα και Γεια σας!:Tell Hades I said hi!**

**Mark: A primary character of this story, a demigod of currently unknown origins.**

**Thalia Grace: Daughter of Zeus, Lieutenant of Artemis' Hunters.**

**Calypso: Daughter of the titan Atlas and the sea titan Tethys. Resides in Ogygia.**

**Laistrygonian: Giants from the north, as one demigod called them, Canadians.**

**Hell Hound: enough said**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: In case there is confusion, I do not own the Percy Jackson or Heroes of Olympus Series, I am not Rick Riordan.**

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Seeing beaten up bodies was nothing new to her, but this one was in particularly bad shape. What was left of an arrow was in his left leg, burns, bruises, and cuts, covered his entire body, and his right arm was bent funny. At first she wondered if he was even still alive, carefully she checked his pulse on his left arm, it was faint, but it was still there, not surprising, but what did surprise her was the warmth of his skin. Someone with a faint pulse like his would have skin much colder, but his, she wasn't sure why but it reminded her of a campfire. Putting those thoughts aside for now she focused on getting to the cave that she called home, were she could tend to his wounds properly. With the help of her servants, they were finally (with much trial and error, due to the clumsiness of her servants) able to get him to the cave and lay him on a spare bed.

The first thing she did was remove his armor; it was Greek in origin but obviously had been tampered with. His chest plate gave her the most trouble, as she finally removed it, its shape began to shimmer and distort until it settled onto that of a jacket. Next she began tending to his injuries, when she removed the arrow, his face twitched slightly, but other than that he remained motionless throughout the entire ordeal. As she bandaged his arm her eyes, almost subconsciously strayed to his face, he wasn't overly handsome, but some of that she figured was due to all the cuts he had on his face. Quickly she returned her eyes to her work. She didn't want to become attached to this demigod, but inside she knew it was a futile effort, the fates purposefully picked each person that would land on her island. By the end of the day she had bandaged all of his wounds, throughout the whole thing the demigod made barely a movement or sound.

The first thing she did when she got up the next morning was change the bandages on the demigod. Once she changed the bandages she checked his pulse, to her surprise, it was perfectly normal, confused, she checked it again, perfectly normal. As she began to remove her hand, the demigods hand suddenly grasped hers; she let out a small cry of surprise. She stared at his face, it twitched several times, then slowly, his eyes opened, immediately locking on to hers. The first thing she noticed about his eyes was that his eye color seemed to constantly be changing. From orange, to yellow, then a little bit of blue. The way his eyes changed color was also strange, her mind once again though of a campfire. Suddenly she noticed she was staring and embarrassingly turned her eyes downward, where she noticed that his hand was still holding hers. The demigod seemed to notice this as well and let go of her hand, his eyes now danced around the room, taking in his surroundings. She turned to walk out but stopped when the demigod spoke.

"Water…. please…" he spoke haltingly, as if speech was difficult. Quickly she grabbed a cup of water and gently poured the liquid into his mouth. The demigod sighed with relief as the liquid flowed down his throat. "Thank you." His speech improved almost immediately after the drink, he smiled at her, she smiled back. "Who are you?" he asked her.

She didn't answer immediately, she could tell she was already beginning fall for the demigod, she didn't want her heart broken again. She knew it was hopeless but she had to try. "Callie." She decided to answer. The demigod mouthed her name, then spoke again.

"My name is Mark." He looked at his bandages and injuries for a moment, then he began searching through his pockets. In his right pocket he pulled out a pocket knife, which he put aside, in his left pocket he pulled out a plastic bag, which contained a squished cube in it. Calypso knew what was in the bag, ambrosia. Mark carefully removed it from the bag, ripped of a piece, and promptly ate it. Mark removed one of the bandages from his chest, the cut that had been their was already disappearing, he removed the rest of the bandages except the sling on his arm, broken bones took a little longer to heal.

"What did it taste like?" She asked, she was curious, ambrosia tasted different from person to person.

"My mom's apple pie." Mark seemed to smile at the memory.

"Who's your mom?" The smile froze on his face, and then promptly left, he turned his head away from her, refusing to answer. She decided not to pry any further on that point.

After the incident the day continued as if it had never happened. When she asked what had happened to him, he told her the story of the battle in Manhattan. Then he began to ask questions.

"How long have I been here?"

"I'm… not sure… time is different on this island."

"Does this island have a name?"

"No." she hated to lie, but she didn't want him finding out who she was, it would only make things harder on her when he left.

"Who are you?"

"A demigod." She waited for the inevitable question, 'who's your godly parent?' she didn't know what to say to that question, she didn't think the gods would like her lying about her godly parents. Surprisingly, he didn't ask the question, though the look on his face told her that he didn't believe her completely.

At the end of the day, they were both tired, without a word, they both fell asleep. It was early morning when she awoke. She looked and saw Mark was already gone. She put on her day clothes and walked outside, she saw Markus practicing with a sword near the embers of a dying fire, she wondered where the sword came from and how long he had been up. She walked to the coast and watched the sunrise. It was another sunrise she would be stuck on this island, another sunrise she would be stuck with a broken heart. Tears began building up as she thought of all the times heroes had washed up on her island, all of them had left her behind. When she couldn't hold the tears back anymore they came in great sobs, she couldn't help it. She didn't know how long she stood there before she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned, and through teary eyes she saw Mark, giving her a reassuring smile. She faced him, trying to stop crying but couldn't. He gave her a reassuring hug, as if to say 'it's all right, I'm here'. Though her entire being yelled 'No!' she hugged him back as she continued to cry. As she cried she vaguely heard him singing, as he sang, the tears slowly began to stop. The tempo was slow, yet hopeful; the chorus stuck out to her the most.

_Take me home, sweet road_

_Take me home, sweet road_

_I've long been a'travelin'_

_Take me home, sweet road_

Finally she gained control over herself again. "Thank you." She said as she pulled away. He smiled at her again. After that the days passed quickly, there was no mention of him leaving, she hoped that he might stay with her indefinitely, but she knew that it was a false hope, sometime soon he would have to leave. One day, as she tended to a garden, she was surprised to find Hermes walking towards her. Hermes visited her most out of all the gods, he was also the most polite. She turned to see if Markus was anywhere in sight, he wasn't, she turned back to Hermes and bowed politely. Hermes smiled but it was obvious he was in a hurry.

"You're banishment on Ogygia is now over, you may leave whenever you wish." She stared in shock at Hermes, unsure if what he had said was what she thought he said.

"When? H-how?"

"Just a few days ago, I would have told you sooner but there's been so much to do, right now. As for how, Percy Jackson." With that he disappeared, a boat lying on the shore behind him. For a moment she just stood there unsure what to do. Eventually she walked towards the cave, at the entrance Mark was practicing with his sword a again, as he usually did. For a moment she just watched him go through his training regime. At first he moved very slowly, it reminded her of dancing, as he continued the pace began to increase. Soon, he was a blur of motion, his sword swinging in deadly arcs, suddenly he stopped. In one motion the sword changed back into a pocket knife and was placed in his pocket. She decided now would be a good time to approach him.

"Mark, I… I've found a way off the island." He showed no surprise as this remark.

"What might that be?"

"A boat has washed ashore, and… from what I can tell…. I think it has magical properties to it." She hated lying to him, but she still didn't want him knowing who she was.

"Well let's have a look at it shall we?" In a few moments they reached the boat, Mark looked it over several times. "Looks like the work of Hermes to me; he always did have a knack for dropping stuff of like this." She took a sharp intake of air at the mention of Hermes, but quickly recovered. "Do you want to leave now?" That question caught her off guard, she had always dreamed of leaving the island, but now that she could, she didn't know where to go.

"Yes but, Where should we go?"

"I have a safe house; we could stay there a few days before continuing. There are many safe houses for demigods; you just have to find them."

"Then… I guess I'll grab some things and we'll go." As she rushed to grab some items her heart was racing. She was free! She could go where she wanted! She could do what she wanted! The thought was so wondrous she could barely keep herself from yelling and dancing for joy. Mark grabbed a few items as well, including his magical jacket. As he returned the boat and waited he surveyed the island. Suddenly, his whole body when rigid, and his eyes went white, staring off into the distance. When Calypso returned she him sitting on the grounding, leaning on the boat, panting heavily.

"Mark! Are you all right?" she rushed to his side, helping him rise to his feet.

"Adventure awaits us, and danger is waiting, but we'll see this island again."

Calypso wasn't sure what to say, she wondered what he meant by 'we', plus, no man had ever found this island twice, but maybe since the curse was lifted, the rules changed. They both entered the boat together, it wasn't huge but it was big enough so that they both fit comfortably.

"North Carolina." As soon as the words were out of his mouth the boat shot forward, the adventure had begun.

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**A/N: Sorry that this chapter is a bit slow, next chapter will have a bit of action and humor in it. Join me next time for, Son of Tyche.**

******OC's and Plot ideas appreciated, profile skeleton below**

******Profile Skeleton**

******Name:**

******Gender:**

******Age:**

******Race: (Demigod, Naid, etc)**

******Appearance:**

******Godly Parent: (if applicable)**

******Short Bio:**

******Personality:**

******Romance: (can be added later, ex. has crush on so-and-so etc.)**

******Weapons/Equipment:**

******Translations, characters, and creatures**

**Ogygia: The island on which Calypso is banished**

**Hermes: Olympian, god of thieves, travelers, the messenger god**

**Magic Jacket: Changes into Greek armor when put on, owned by Mark.**

**Magic Swiss Army Knife: When blade is flipped open it changes into a sword, changes back at users will, owned by Mark**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any related titles.**

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**Son of Tyche**

Mark made a mental note that next time they used a magic boat; he needed to be more specific with his directions, and not to take a nap during the voyage. From what he could figure, and from a magic map, the boat had taken them to North Carolina alright, straight into Albemarle Sound, and straight up Roanoke River, where it then stopped somewhere in the middle of nowhere. By the time they had figured that out it the sun was already setting over the horizon. After setting up a makeshift camp, they ate in silence, Mark still pouring over his map, trying to determine the best and safest route to take.

"Of all the places to be stuck…" Mark's face showed that he was clearly worried.

Calypso scooted closer. "What's the matter?"

"It's just that… well… see this bend of the river?" he pointed to a spot on the map. She nodded that she could. "That's where we are, which is right in the middle of a wildlife refuge. Which not only house wildlife, but an entire assortment of monsters, and guess where the safe house is?"

Calypso felt the ice cold grip of fear, "On the other side?"

"Yep."

"Can't we take the boat back? Or just keep going?" she suggested, Mark was already shaking his head.

"Either direction there's a high chance of running into monsters, I don't know how we made it this far, or why the boat stopped, but this river it bound to be patrolled by monsters of all kinds. Either direction puts us further from the safe house. Our best bet to remain undetected is to go on foot from here, which, sadly, is nine miles from the safe house."

Calypso didn't like the situation they were in at all, but dwelling on it wouldn't help, so she decided to try and change the subject. "Where did you get that map?"

Mark smiled, "It's a bit of a lengthy story that involves a Cyclopes, 3 hell hounds, and a thousand spiders." Mark then stood up, stretching out his legs. "You should get some rest, I'll stand watch." Without even waiting for her response he walked to the edge of the campsite and leaned against a tree. As she watched him she noticed how tired she felt. After rolling out a blanket she laid down and close her eyes, almost immediately she fell asleep.

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Immediately she wished she was awake, as she floated through her dream, the images shifted quickly one to another. Two people running through the woods, an explosion, a bridge, a deck of cards, (she wondered where that came from), and monsters. As she woke up she jerked her head left to right to make sure none of the images were real.

"Morning, breakfast is ready." She turned and saw that Mark had indeed made breakfast. As she ate Mark had begun his training regime.

"Why do you train every morning?"

"Because…" he said as he swung his sword in a downward arc. "I want to become stronger, ready for any opponent.

"But, you must be tired after being on watch last night. Were you up last all of last night?"

"Yeah, someone had to watch for trouble."

She rolled her eyes. "You could have wakened me up and had me do a shift."

"I considered it."

"Then why didn't you?"

Mark didn't answer, but kept going on with his training. Seeing that here question was ignored she began cleaning the campsite, and getting ready to begin their long hike. As she rolled up her blanket, something in the back of her mind told her to look up. When she did she saw a hell hound sneaking up on her, no more than five feet away. Seeing that it had been spotted it growled then pounced. She had just opened her mouth to scream when a sword flashed by, embedding itself in the hell hound, which promptly turned to dust. Mark quickly retrieved his sword, and helped Calypso to her feet.

"Quick, grab what you can; there'll be more of them in moments, hurry!"

She obeyed as fast as she could, packing everything into the bag, then, she heard a horn. She turned to Mark; his face was set with grim determination. "Hunting horns, now we go!" She didn't bother asking what they were hunting, she already knew. As fast as their legs would carry them they ran through the woods, the sounds of the hunt getting closer and closer. All of a sudden, a tree nearby exploded violently into flames, knocking them both to their feet and showering them with tree turned mulch.

"Boom! Boom!"

"Oh, shut up." They turned to see the source of the voices, which turned out to be two Laistrygonians. One had a huge backpack, filled to the brim with what looked like bowling balls; the other had several Hell Hounds on leashes. The one with the hell hounds spoke first.

"Well, well, looks like we have a couple demigods here, what do you think, brother?"

"Boom!"

"Could you please say something else for once?"

"Ba-Boom?"

"Bah!"

As The two argued Mark and Calypso slowly got to their feet.

"Callie, go, I'll catch up with you." Calypso was about to argue when she saw the look on his face, it allowed for no discussion on the matter. She bolted.

"Now look what you've done!" The Lastrygonian with the hell hounds pointed accusingly at his brother. One of them has gotten away!"

"Kaboom-boom!"

"Never mind! These hell hounds will catch her." He released his grip on the leashes.

"I don't think so!" as soon as the hell hounds began forward, Mark leapt at the hounds, and with three slices they were degraded to piles of ashes. As he turned his attention to the brothers an explosion sent him flying several yards. Shaken, bruised, but otherwise unharmed, he shakily stood, a feat that surprised the brothers.

"Impossible! That Napalm bowling ball should have burned you to a crisp!"

"Surprise, dummies! Next time use bowling balls for what they were meant for!" with that parting remark he bolted in the direction that Calypso had gone. Though he still was running quickly his speed was greatly reduced by the fact that his entire body was in pain. Though he had not been burned, the explosion had still hurt. Within moments he caught up with Calypso, the sounds of the brothers close behind them. Suddenly, the woods broke into a clearing. At the center of the clearing was chasm, spanning the chasm was bridge that looked several hundred years old. Calypso tried to stop but Mark grabbed her hand, forcing her to continue running across the bridge. As they reached the far end of the bridge an explosion caused a tree nearby the end of the bridge to collapse, and to their misfortune, onto the bridge.

"Ssss-Kapow!"

The bridge collapse from under their feet, as they fell the long distance down, Mark managed to grab hold of a branch and Calypso.

"Are you okay?" he managed to ask Calypso through gritted teeth.

"I… think I'm okay."

"Ya, I'm okay too, thanks for asking." Came a voice from above him.

Startled, they both looked up to see another person holding onto a shrub a few feet above them.

"How in Olympus did you get there?" asked a very confused Mark.

"Hmmph.. gah.. you wouldn't believe this…. Gah… I was sleeping in this tree…"

"Okay, I'll ask questions later."

"Thanks, any ideas how to get out of this mess?" the new boy asked.

"No, nothing's coming to me right now." Then he heard the new boy's shrub begin to break.

"Well, you better think of something fast." Suddenly, something fell out of the boy's pocket. "No! My cards! Grab them... oh wait, that's right." He said as he realized Mark had his hands full; Mark shot him an ugly look.

"Well," Mark thought aloud as he looked down, "it's not that much further down so…"

Then the shrub the stranger was holding on to made the decision for them. The shrub snapped under his weight, and the new boy tumbled down right on top of Mark and Calypso, sending them all down the rest of the way. After a lot of falling, tumbling, hitting branches, and lots of colorful oaths, they hit the bottom. Miraculously, none of them were hurt severely. Moaning as he moved, Mark managed to pull a bag of ambrosia out of his pocket and tear a piece off.

"Hey, pass some of that around, man." Groaned the new boy. With a great deal of groaning from everybody, they all managed to eat a piece of the ambrosia. For a moment nobody moved, then Mark managed to get to his feet, then he helped Calypso.

"We need to keep moving, those brothers might still be chasing us."

"Nah," stated the boy, "This is out of their territory: nothing here but wild centaurs and crazy women, I'm more worried about the women myself."

"Crazy women?" Calypso asked.

"I had a run in with them earlier, believe me, you don't want to meet them, they're mean."

"Okay, very well, we'll rest here for the rest of the day, I don't think I could walk very far anyway." Calypso and the new boy nodded in assent. Together all three of them set up camp. As The new boy set the fire, he let out a small cry of joy.

"Oh look: my cards!"

Mark and Calypso looked at him funny. "Who are you anyway?' Calypso asked.

"Cameron, son of Tyche, luckiest son of a…uh…goddess, you'll ever meet."

"Ah, I see. What's with the cards?" Mark asked.

"My lucky deck; Wanna play?" Marks face left him in no doubt what he thought about that.

"Why were you sleeping in a tree?" Calypso asked.

"I get these strange urges to do stuff, usually I end up helping other demigods."

"I'm going to get some water; I saw a small creek over a ways." Mark told them.

As Mark walked from the campsite, he found a small waterfall where a small rainbow was formed as the sun hit it. He dug through his pocket and pulled out a gold drachma and then threw it into the rainbow. "O, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Captain Wolf at the Forgotten Camp." He spoke. The rainbow shimmered until it showed a teen in Greek armor standing over a table with a large map, surrounded by several other kids in similar dress. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important." He called to the image. The people in the image jumped, startled, many of them went for their weapons, when they saw Mark many of them stared at him with bulging eyes. Then Wolf spoke.

"Holy Zeus, man, we thought you were dead. After you went on that mission to Manhattan, we hadn't heard from you. Where have you been?"

"Around, how long have I been gone?"

"Two weeks!" piped in someone in the background.

"Two weeks!? That can't be right…oh, yeah it can. I'm just checking on you guys, where are you exactly?"

"Somewhere in Michigan at the moment, the old campsite hasn't been attacked recently and we decided not to push our luck, good thing we did: our scouts reported that several divisions of monsters moved through that area as soon as we left. What happened to you? You look like you went through a train wreck."

"I had a run in with a couple crazy monsters; I'll try to meet up with you when I can." Mark saluted, Wolf returned the salute, and then the image shimmered and died. As Mark returned to camp he noticed Calypso and Cameron were fixing lunch. They all sat down at ate in silence: everyone was in too much pain to want to talk much.

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**A/N Here you go! One more chapter for the masses. Special thanks to Wolfman613 for sending the first OC! If you want to send an OC, the profile skeleton is in Ch2. Also, do not post the OC's in the reviews: that is not where they go; they go in my inbox, okay? Good, we have an understanding.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: In case you haven't noticed… I am not Ricky**

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**Crazy Women and more…**

After they finished lunch they packed up and began moving again. By Mark's best estimations, they needed to head another three miles to reach their destination. Cameron, who decided to come along, took their mind off the road by telling them many of lucky adventures, some of which were quiet humorous. As Cameron casually turned his head to look behind them, his eyes bulged, mouth dropped, and before either Mark or Calypso could ask what was wrong he turned and bolted, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Crazy women! Crazy Women! Run!"

Not sure what to do, Mark and Calypso followed his example (excluding the screaming part). As they ran Cameron suddenly found himself hanging upside down, swinging by his heel, compliments of a lasso trap. Before Calypso could register what had happened she found herself suspended by a net trap. Mark stopped and stared at the pair, unsure whether to help or laugh at their predicament.

"Hold, boy!" called a voice from directly behind him.

On instinct, he pulled out his sword and whirled swinging his sword in the direction of the voice. With a ringing of steel the two fought for a few moments, until Mark gained the advantage and disarmed his opponent, his sword was now a hairsbreadth from his foe's throat, which to his surprise, was a girl, probably no older then 13, with murder in her eyes. Then he noticed that he was surrounded by an entire company of girls, all with arrows pointed straight at his head. As he examined his new predicament, he noticed there manner of dress, which consisted mostly of silver and white clothes and black combat boots (which Mark thought was a bit out of place).

Then the pieces fell together in his mind. "Wait a second, aren't you…" Then the girl he had beaten took advantage of him being distracted and grabbed his arm, pushing a pressure point, causing him to drop his sword. Quickly, Mark brought his other arm slamming into her elbow, causing her to cry out in pain, then, with several other complex fighting moves, he pinned her to the ground with a knife to her throat. "…the Hunters of Artemis." The murder in the eyes of his captive increased, if that was possible.

"Yes, boy, they are my hunters." Came another voice.

Markus cautiously looked up and saw a young girl with auburn hair and silver eyes, it didn't take Mark long to figure out who she was. Hurriedly, he placed his knife in his sheath then stood to his feet, releasing his hostage; he bowed slightly in the new girl's direction.

"Artemis."

"Yes, I am Artemis, who are you?" she asked

Mark was about to answer when another girl spoke up.

"My lady, what do we do with these?" the girl jerked a thumb in the direction of Cameron and Calypso.

Artemis turned and examined them for a moment, narrowing her eyes when she saw Cameron, who was murmuring something about 'crazy women' and 'out to kill him'.

"Shoot them down." She said, Cameron nearly went into cardiac arrest.

"Shoot us down! Can't you cut us down like normal people?" then the arrow went through the string, Artemis walked over to Cameron, glaring at him as he moaned on the ground.

"Shut up, boy."

Mark went over to where Calypso fell and helped her to her feet. Then he returned his attention to the hunters. "I'm a little insulted none of you recognize me, maybe next time I go down, it needs to be more spectacular."

At first none of the hunters understood, then one them stepped forward, and stared at him for a moment, then recognition flashed in her eyes.

"Mark? You're alive?"

"Yes, Thalia, or I wouldn't be speaking to you right now, would I?" he sounded a bit exasperated.

"You know this boy?" Artemis asked her.

"He's the boy I told you about, the one that collapsed Lincoln Tunnel, and I thought, died while doing so."

A few of the hunters, the survivors of the titan war, began whispering to each other, clarifying among themselves that it was him. Mark distinctly heard 'I thought he was a bit taller' in the whispering. Artemis showed no visible surprise at this news, but turned to Thalia and told them to make camp here.

"Great, stuck in a camp with a bunch of crazy women." Cameron mumbled.

"Shut up!" everyone told him.

In an instant the tents were up and the hunters went about doing whatever hunters do, occasionally shooting ugly looks in Mark's and (especially) Cameron's direction. Then Thalia walked up to Mark and told him that Artemis wished to speak to him in private.

"I hope she doesn't turn us all into Jackelopes." Cameron commented to Calypso. He seemed genuinely nervous and scared

"Shut up." She responded.

Quietly, He and Thalia walked to the central tent. Thalia waited outside as Mark walked in. Across from him sat Artemis, who motioned for him to take a seat, which he did. For a moment, she said nothing as she stared at him, Mark felt like he was prey, and she was studying before she struck. Eventually she broke the silence.

"Who are you?" Mark was about to say 'Mark' when he saw the look in her eyes. He took a deep breath, he never told anybody, what he was about to tell her, but it was near impossible to lie to a goddess, and he didn't want to try his luck.

"I am Mark, Champion of Hestia." He poured out his entire life story to the waiting goddess, who said nothing until he was finished. Even then, she stared off into space, as if trying to figure out what to do with this information. The she whispered something; Mark only just managed to hear one piece, which sounded like, 'the immortal champion'. "I beg your pardon, mam?"

"Nothing, we will not hinder you on your journey, you may go." He left the tent, and returned to his friend. Calypso was chatting with a huntress, and Cameron looked like he was trying his best to remain inconspicuous, and was staring up into the sky.

"Funny, it's a clear day, yet there's that one cloud." Cameron commented as Mark walked up, he pointed up into the sky. Mark looked up; there was indeed, one lone cloud in the sky.

"I don't know, but, it seems to be following us, and I've only noticed it since I met you guys."

Logan was about to reply when Artemis walked out of her tent, and announced that the hunters where leaving. Immediately, the hunter's tents disappeared, and so did the hunters, there was no evidence that they had ever been there.

"How do they do that." Wondered Calypso out loud.

"They're crazy; they can do what they want." Cameron answered, looking relieved that they had finally left.

Mark rolled his eyes. "Let's get going, we're nearly at the safehouse." Within a few minutes they had left the forest behind them, and within an hour they had reached a small town. They kept walking until they reached an apartment complex. Where Mark walked up to the third (the top floor), and opened room 305 with a key from his pocket. The apartment wasn't big, but wasn't small either. There was a living room, a kitchen, and a bedroom. All of the rooms were plainly furnished, the rooms were neat, but it looked like no one had lived in it recently.

"Were do you get the money to rent an apartment?" Cameron asked curiously.

"I adventure around a lot, so I sell some of the stuff I find."

"Who do you sell it to?" Calypso inquired.

"Demigods, collectors, a cloud nymph came by recently and bought several dozen arrows."

For several hours they sat back and did nothing, and where thoroughly enjoying themselves until they were rudely disturbed by an explosion that rocked the entire building. Mark quickly ran onto the balcony and quickly ran back in.

"Were under attack!" without waiting for their response he opened the closet in the bedroom, revealing it to be stockpiled to the rim with weapons of all kinds. "Cameron! Do you have a weapon preference?"

"A what!" Cameron yelled, suddenly, he found himself with a shotgun in hand, "cool."

Calypso found herself with a sub-machine gun, which she had no idea how to use. As Mark gave her a quick rundown on the mechanics of guns, the door collapsed revealing a fully armored gorgon, which promptly found its head blown off. "Sweet!" Cameron yelled, but Mark noticed that his nose looked like it had recently been hit. Monsters began pouring into the apartment. Mark Hacked and sliced, leaving monster dust in his wake. Cameron and Calypso laid waste with their limited knowledge of firearms, leaving several bullet holes in the wall. Despite their best efforts the monsters numbers began to overwhelm them, forcing them into a tight circle. As a hell hound prepared to pounce it jerked violently, then collapsed, revealing a silver-like arrow in its throat. Suddenly, several monsters went down with similar injuries. Seeing their opportunity, the band repelled the monsters, leaving none alive. All three of them collapsed onto the ground, tired. Then they noticed that a fourth person had joined them, Mark recognized her immediately.

"Alexa! I should have known that was you! That was great shooting!"

The girl gave a shy half-smile, but refused to meet his eyes. "It was nothing."

"You know here?" Calypso asked.

"Yeah, she's the Nephele (cloud nymph) I told you about, the one that bought the arrows." This fact, caused the nymph to blush lightly.

Cameron leaned over and whispered in Mark's ear. "What's with her?"

"She just a bit shy, that's all." He answered.

"Yeah, but she won't even look at you."

"Well, when we first met, I was on the balcony at the time…"

"So?"

"Well… it was really hot, and, I didn't have my shirt on." This statement caused the nymph to blush all the more. Calypso couldn't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy, why hadn't seen him without his shirt? Well, she had when she had patched him up but that didn't count. An awkward silence followed, Mark, as always, broke the silence. "We need to go, it's not safe here anymore."

"Where will we go?" Cameron inquired.

"Camp Half-Blood." They couldn't help but see his distaste in the name.

"I… I'm coming with you." Came the timid voice of Alexa.

"Very well, but let's hurry, I can by us bus fare for most of the way." With that the four of them were off Manhattan their new destination.

* * *

**A/N Here's the next chapter! Thanks to Reading nerd for her OC. To give you guys a heads up, school is starting for me next week, and how often I post a new chapter will fall significantly. I am still accepting one or two major OC's. After those two, you can still send OC's, but they will not play a major role in the story line. Wolfman613, I will try to get your character in a more major role next chapter.**

**Translations and Stuff. (Sorry, I forgot to do this last chapter)**

**Nephele: Cloud Nymphs**

**Alexa: A shy cloud nymph**

**Cameron: Son of Tyche**

**Wolf: Captain in the Forgotten Camp**

**Artemis: goddess of the hunt**

**Hunters of Artemis: enough said**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series.**

* * *

**A Fate yet to Be**

A Cyclopes paced back and forth anxiously, waiting for the news. When it did come his face grimaced noticeably. Their warriors had failed again, now he had to relay the message to 'him'. Nervously, he walked up to a large gate, and nodded to the guards, who then opened it. Quietly he walked into the chamber and bowed before a small throne, where a body lay.

"The news is ill, is it not?" came a deep, rumbling voice.

The Cyclopes nodded, "Our latest assault was defeated, reports are that a nymph has joined him.

The voice hissed we displeasure, the body rose, and walked, into the light, revealing its furious, golden eyes. It paced back and forth. "Where are they headed now?" it asked the Cyclopes.

"We are unsure, but they are heading in the direction of Camp Half-Blood."

"Send a force to intercept them, they must not reach it, I would prefer him alive, but if it is deemed necessary, kill him." The Cyclopes remained in place, shifting his weight from one leg to another nervously. "Sepulchrum Custos, I have told you many times, speak your mind."

"Why do we expend so many troops hunting down this one half blood? He is not even of one of the elder Olympians."

"Incorrect, he is the champion of the eldest Olympian, which alone makes him deadly. Also, with his particular blood, I could raise an army more powerful then the giants."

The Cyclopes' eye bulged. "More powerful then the giants?"

"Yes, now go, I believe Pavor wished to lead a task force, send him."

"It shall be done." The Cyclopes assured him, then left. The body returned to its throne, and sighed.

"You will fall, champion of gods, and with your blood, none may stop me ever again."

* * *

The bus ride, if anything, had been long and boring. Now they stood in Manhattan, the bustling streets alive with people. The walk wasn't any better than the bus ride, it was long, dull, and they were constantly getting lost.

"I thought you said you knew where you were going." Cameron managed to pant.

"I said no such thing." Mark retorted.

"I guess then we all assumed you knew."

"I do but… well, I haven't been here for several years."

"What! And we're been spending all this time, walking around in circles, and you didn't bother to tell us you don't know where you're going!" Cameron was in near hysterics.

"Could you stop complaining for one second, please?" Calypso, was tired of hearing Cameron complain every few minutes, it had been trying her patience.

"Um.. I think I can help." Everyone turned to Alexa, who had said little the entire trip. "I can get a better view from my cloud, and figure out where we need to go." Mark face-palmed.

"Of course! Yes! Please do!"

"Ok, be right back." With that she disappeared, then reappeared a few minutes later.

"Follow me please." She asked, without question, everyone followed; glad to know that they were finally going in the right direction. After some time, the left the city limits and began walking in mostly undeveloped area.

"There! See that tree!" Alexa pointed out a large pine that towered over the landscape at its place on a hill.

"Yes, I remember, it's just over that hill…" then Mark eyebrows furrowed. "The dragon and the fleece are new."

Everyone was shocked to see that wrapped around the pine what at first had seemed like a pile of cables was actually a large dragon.

"Oh, yeah, he's been here for a few years, ever since we found the golden fleece." Said Cameron

"That's the Golden Fleece?!" Mark exclaimed, astonished.

"Yeah, the dragon is there to guard it, in case someone tries to steal it."

"Come on!" Alexa yelled to them, who everyone now noticed was a good distance in front of them. As they ran to catch up, they heard a familiar sound.

"Hell hounds! Run!" Everyone bolted up the hill, but the hounds were gaining quickly, and behind was what seemed like a small army. As they ran Calypso saw Mark pull something out of his backpack then turn around to face the hoard.

"What are you doing!?" she screamed to him. What she now recognized as a horn, Mark put to his lips and blew.

* * *

In the life of a demigod, nothing ever seemed to go as planned. He had quickly gotten through everything that day so he could spend as much of it as he could with Annabeth. He had walked to the Athena cabin and waited for her there, where within minutes she arrived.

"Hi, Seaweed brain." She gave him her traditional greeting.

He smiled, he was about to kiss her when they both heard it.

"What was that?" he asked her.

"A Greek war horn?" she was as confused as he was. As fast as they could they ran in the direction of the horn, as they reached the top of the hill they heard it again. He looked down to see three people running in their direction, and a fourth standing his ground against a horde of monsters. Quickly, he uncapped Riptide and charged to help the demigod in trouble. From that point training and instinct took over. Each boy was a blur of motion as the cut down the ranks of monsters.

"Thanks for the assist." Yelled Mark to Percy, "I owe you."

"Thank me once we get out of this mess." As the words were out of his mouth Annabeth arrived with reinforcements. With the arrival of a large force of demigods the monsters panicked and chaos ensued in their ranks, it wasn't long before the remaining monsters made a run for it. Weary from the excitement of battle the army of demigods walked back across the property line into the camp.

"Thanks, I don't think even I could've taken on all of them myself." Mark thanked his rescuer once more.

"No problem, just another day in the life of a demigod, eh?"

"Yep, what's your name anyway?" Mark asked.

"Percy Jackson, yours?"

"Mark."

Once they reached the top of the hill everyone stopped for a breather. Calypso walked over to Mark. "Can I speak to you? Alone."

Mark smiled and excused himself and followed, when they were a distance from the group Calypso turned back to Mark.

"What did you want to talk about?" Mark asked her.

She slapped him.

"Owww…." As he held the side of his face, "What did I do?"

"Scared me half to death! Again!"

"Again?" Mark was very confused.

"You're constantly running and… and…. Saving us but what if… you try and save us from something you can't beat? I'm afraid…"

"Of what?" His confusion had changed into concern.

She pulled him into a tight hug, her voice cracking. "That I might lose you."

Neither of them said anything for a moment, they just stood there, Mark silently stroking her hair.

"I promise you, that I'll do whatever it takes to stay alive." He kissed her on the forehead. She looked up at him, this time, things would be different, she was sure of it.

"Ok, thank you." She said as she pulled out of the hug.

"Something else is bothering you, isn't it?"

She frowned; she didn't want to tell him, if she did, he would know who she was. Every time she had tried to use magic, she just got a dull pain in the back of her head, she had tried to several times during their adventure, but it had never worked. Though she had been able to do minimal disguise magic when they had come near: she didn't want Percy to recognize her.

"Let's go, everyone else is down at the camp." Smiling, they walked hand in hand, towards the camp. The sun was beginning its descent over the horizon; another horn blew, signaling them all to dinner. Percy motioned to the pair which proceeded to follow. Dinner was great, how can you go wrong with whatever food you want? Mark, Calypso, and Alexa sat at the large table with Chiron. Calypso couldn't help but notice that Mark, every once in a while, would glance towards the fire pit, where a young girl was tending to the fire. Calypso was immediately suspicious, but before she could question him about it Chiron pulled him aside to talk to him.

"Been a long time since you were last here."

"I know, ten, if I recall correctly." Mark replied.

After a long discussion Chiron released him to the campfire, where the camp was singing silly camping songs. He sat next to Calypso and joined in, enjoying himself. Afterwards a girl walked over and introduced herself as Rachel Dare the Oracle.

"Nice to meet you Rachel, I'm Mark and this is Callie, so, what is…." He trailed off when he noticed that a green mist was surrounding Rachel, he stepped back, his hand going to his sword, Rachel looked directly at him, her eyes now glowing, then, she spoke.

_The immortal champion holds the wall_

_The Forgotten's finest doomed to fall_

_An ancient enemy rises again_

_A foe not from the world of men_

Everyone turned to see what was going on, but Rachel seemed to regain control of herself again.

"What? Did I just spout out a prophecy?" she asked, bewildered

"I think you did, I wonder… Mark? What's wrong?" Calypso turned to Mark, who was pale as a ghost.

"No, no, no, no! it can't! it's-geyahh!" he yelled, he stumbled back, his hands covering his eyes, as if to keep from seeing something.

"Mark! Mark!" Calypso cried to him, he removed his hands from his face, but he seemed to be in a different world.

"It won't happen! It Can't! So many dead! I… NOOO!" His cry echoed throughout the camp. His eyes were locked on the fire pit. Calypso turned, and gasped, in the fire, images were flashing, most of which she couldn't make sense of, but apparently Mark could.

"NO! Make it stop!" his plea went unheaded, the images continued to flash in the fire and in his mind. Suddenly with another cry from Mark, the fire erupted into a raging inferno, campers stumbled back to avoid the blaze, then as fast as it had started, the flame returned to normal. And Mark lay gasping on his knees. He looked up, then he bolted for the woods. At first Calypso was too startled to move, then she followed him.

* * *

Wolf paced back and forth; Mark hadn't reported in recently, he was sure something was wrong.

"I should be out there," he muttered to himself, "Helping him, not sitting around waiting in Michigan." At that moment Trevor, his lieutenant, walked in.

"Still no news?" he asked Wolf, who simply shook his head. "What should we do?"

"Gather the Spartans together, tell them we're leaving."

"Leaving! But sir! You're in charge of the camp! You can't leave now!"

"I can, and I will, Mark could be in trouble, and I'm sitting doing nothing while he risks his neck. You'll be in charge while I'm gone."

"Me? But sir!..."

"No buts. Now, gather the Spartans."

Without another word Trevor left, within minutes for other kids entered the tent.

"We're going to find Mark, suit up and get ready, we leave in one hour."

They all nodded and left, Wolf sighed, the time for sitting was over, it was time for action.

* * *

**A/N Hello! I'm back! Hope you enjoy this chapter! One more OC would be nice! Please PM it to me! OC skeleton is in Ch2 I believe! Thank you my loyal followers!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I… DO… NOT…. OWN… PERCY JACKSON!**

* * *

**Hammers and Halo Warriors**

Calypso had nearly gotten lost in the woods inside of camp. When she did find Mark, she hid behind a tree. Mark was on his knees, weeping, while a young lady comforted him. Calypso felt slightly jealous until she recognized who the lady was: Hestia.

"I… I can't do it… I can't watch my friends…" He seemed afraid to say something, as if saying it would bring it to pass.

"Prophecies are cryptic at best; it may not mean what you think it does." Hestia said comfortingly.

"I… had a vision afterwards…. The camp was burning… the ground wet with blood… a motionless hand…"

"Shhh… it's no use worrying about what might be, go: it is time."

Mark unsteadily rose to his feet. "Yes, mi'lady."

Hestia shook her head, a slightly amused smile on her face, which quickly turned solemn.

"You may not be my flesh and blood, but you are my son."

Mark managed to smile once more. "Yes, mom." With that they hugged each other for a moment before Hestia disappeared in a flash of light. Calypso was so confused by this revelation that she stood staring, as if frozen to the spot. Mark stared of into the distance, as if contemplating something. Calypso finally regained control of herself and walked up to him. If  
Mark was surprised to see her he didn't show it. She stood next to him, neither saying anything for a moment.

"So.. Hestia is your mom?" she ventured.

"In a manner, yes. My adoptive mother more accurately. Officially though, I am her champion." The world was quiet again, with nothing but the sound of the forest. "I am leaving."

"What?" She didn't understand, she stood in front of him, forcing him to look at her.

"My friends are in danger, I have to leave."

"But what about us? And Cameron? And Alexa? Why can't you stay?"

Mark sighed staring into her eyes sadly, the fire in his eyes dim. "If I don't go, my friends die, and as for here: there is no place for me here, there never has been."

"You've been here before?" the more time she spent with Mark, the more she found that she knew little about him at all.

"Once, around 20 years ago."

She was certain she misheard. "Twenty? That's not possible, you can't be over…."

"I'm 33." His announcement was a shock.

"How is that possible?"

"Oh, there are some perks for being a champion of a god. For one, time is irrelevant to me, though I can still die by blade, sickness, or something else."

"That's… great." She thought about it for a moment, he was immortal, to a degree, so was she. In a moment she made her mind up, she would never lose him, no matter what.

"I'm coming with you."

Mark locked eyes with hers. "Ok."

"That's it? No argument about it being dangerous?" honestly, she had her argument all ready to go.

Mark sighed, he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her in closer. "Calypso, too many guys in your life have left you behind, I refuse to be one."

She was stunned. "How… how did you know…"

Mark laughed lightly. "You should be careful what you talk about when others are nearby."

Putting two and two together she put on a face of mock severity. "You were eavesdropping when Hermes came to my island weren't you?"

He didn't answer only smiled, then drew her in, then they kissed. They may have stood there forever if Cameron hadn't walked up and cleared his throat, causing them to break the kiss, Calypso blushing and Mark trying to hold in a nervous laugh.

"Not to ruin a romantic moment here, but, you do know I'm coming with you?" Cameron stated, a smile on his face showing that he wasn't really sorry at all. He shrunk back under Calypso's gaze.

"Fine, we could use a lucky rabbit's foot on our trip, but why do you want to come."

"Lots of reasons, and besides someone has to chaperone you two lovebirds." He shrunk back once more under both of their gazes. Then suddenly, all three of them burst out laughing at the humor of the situation.

"How long have you been there?" Mark asked between laughs.

"Just got here." Cameron said, "When are we leaving?"

"Now."

"Good, because I'm ready to leave right now." He declared. At that moment, Alexa walked up.

"I'm coming too." She said with unusual determination.

"So am I." Came an unfamiliar voice. Cameron's eyes bulged as he turned to the source of the voice, everyone followed suit.

The source of the voice was a girl, about Cameron's age, except she was a head taller than he. She was muscular, pretty, but not memorable. Her most apparent feature was the extremely large war hammer on her back.

"And you are?" Mark ventured.

"Sarah, daughter of Hephaestus."

"And you want to come…why?"

"Camp gets boring after a bit and this sounds like fun."

Mark's eyes kept straying to the large war hammer, he was pretty sure it would be bad for his health if he said 'no.'

"Okay."

"Well then, let's get going." Calypso decided it was time for them to go if they wanted to save Mark's friends.

"Wait, everybody, what you are about to be told is secret, you may tell no one else about this, I'm probably already going to catch heat from up top with already so many people knowing what I'm about to tell you." Everyone nodded, and then after he told everyone about their mission and the Forgotten, but nothing about him, Hestia, or Calypso, they began the trek to find the Forgotten.

* * *

After they had left Camp Half-Blood far behind them, they made camp. It had already been late when they had left, now it was probably midnight.

"Get what rest you can, we move at first light." Everyone covered themselves with blankets and fell asleep. Sometime during the night Calypso woke up and saw Mark sitting up. When she was about to say something he looked at with a sideways glance, she understood, she said nothing. For a few minutes they sat there, neither moving, listening to the sounds of the forest. Eventually Mark spoke in a quiet voice.

"Whatever it was is gone now, though I'm going to take a look, wake everyone up, we may need to move quickly." Drawing his sword, he stealthily moved out. Calypso quietly woke everyone up, much to their disgust, until she told them that Mark had heard something. As quick as they could, everyone rolled up their blankets, keeping one eye on the surrounding forest. At first, they heard nothing, then, they heard something that sounded like leaves being overturned. Cautiously, Cameron moved forward, drawing his sword. As soon as he left their range of vision the girls heard sounds of a fight. All three of them charged forward, determined to save their friend from whatever was attacking him. What they saw was five 'things' which looked suspiciously like characters from a video game standing around Cameron, who was now bound and gagged, hanging by his ankles by a rope tied to the limb of a tree (again).

"Holy Hephaestus! Halo warriors!" Sarah cried as she slammed one of them in the chest with her war hammer, sending him flying into a nearby tree.

"Oof!" The thing's voice was surprisingly human; despite the blow, the thing got up and drew its sword.

"Ambush!" yelled one of them, which drew its great sword.

Alexa launched a volley of arrows into one of their foes, which staggered back, but got right back up: the arrows had barely made a dent in it. Calypso tried to summon magic, but as always, all she got was dull pain in the back of her head. She drew her dagger and desperately parried an incoming blow: swordplay wasn't exactly her strong suit. She looked around, Alexa was nimbly dodging one of the enemy's attacks as she shot arrows at it, some managed to stick in its armor, but other than that it seemed to have no effect. Sarah was fighting three them at a time, and judging by the dents in their armor, some of her blows had connected. Before Calypso could think about any of this her opponent disarmed her with a skillful blow to her hand. She let out a cry as she dropped her knife.

"Alright, put your hands in the air where I can see…" Before it could finish its statement, Mark flew into the scene, slamming the pommel of his sword into the back of its head, causing the foe to fall to the ground. As he engaged the foe attacking Alexa, he seemed to recognize it.

"Wait, Joker?" Mark asked it. The thing tapped something on its head, causing the visor to fold back, revealing a human face.

"Hey, howdy hey, Cowboy." The boy said sarcastically. Immediately, all the fighting stopped as five boys flipped back their helmets, revealing their faces.

"Wolf? Apache? Knight? Bully? What are you guys doing here?" Mark asked perplexed.

"We were looking for you!" Wolf exclaimed, obviously as surprised as he was.

"Oh, sorry Bully." He said to the kid he had hit on the head.

"Yeah, he's going to feel that in the morning." Knight noted.

"ξεχνάμε ότι! I'm feeling it now!" grumbled Bully.

"I hate to cut the reunion short, but can someone please cut me down!" Cameron yelled. The gag however, made his request sound more like, 'ah hayt hoo cu he reuio shor, bu can thomeone peas cu me doon!'

"Right." Apache said as he walked over and cut him loose.

"That's the second time within two days I've been caught in a trap! What is it with people and trapping me?" he cried to the heavens as soon as the gag was removed. No one answered, but everyone laughed.

"Let's get you back to camp Cowboy." Wolf said as he patted Mark on the back.

"They're coming with me." Mark motioned to the others.

"Very well, but it's highly unusual for outsiders to come." Wolf warned.

"I know, but they're coming anyway."

"Fine." Wolf motioned to Apache who let out a shrill whistle. Within moments, six horses trotted into view. Mark smiled and ran over to one of them, which let out a happy neigh as Mark stroked its side.

"It's good to see you too, Camelot." He said to the horse, which neighed again. Then he turned back to everyone. "My friends, this is Joker, Wolf, Apache, Knight, and Bully, guys, this is Callie, Sarah, Cameron, and Alexa." They all nodded at each other.

Wolf looked to the horizon. "We need to get moving, the sun is rising. Joker, take Cameron on your horse; Knight, take Sarah; I'll take Alexa…"

"Callie can ride with me." Mark stated.

"Good, let's ride." Wolf replied.

* * *

**You've wasted more perfectly good time reading my story, thank you for wasting time on me. I regret to announce I am closing permanent OC's, but if you have great idea for a temporary character, PM them to me and I'll see what I can do.**

**Translations:**

**ξεχνάμε ότι!: Forget that!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I'm gonna say it... I'm gonna say it... I DON'T OWN THE PERCY JACKSON SERIES! OR ANY RELATED** **ITEMS!**

* * *

**A Cowboy and a Samurai**

Calypso enjoyed riding with Mark. She watched as the scenery passed by. They trotted along in no particular hurry, but steadily getting to wherever they were going. Calypso listened and laughed as Mark retold many daring, and sometimes humorous adventures.

"Hey Cowboy," called Apache, "what happened to you all those weeks you were gone? We heard nothing from you, save that one Iris message a few days ago.

"A story for another time, Apache." Mark called back.

"Why do they keep calling you Cowboy?" Calypso inquired. "and why don't you call them by their names? They have names don't they?"

"Sure they have names, but they're better known by their call signs. Cowboy is my call sign, that's what they know me as, others know me as Mark." He explained.

"Oh." She rested her head on his chest, she still didn't understand why they couldn't just use their own names, but she decided not to push the matter further. Her eyes strayed to each of the Spartan's faces. Many of them bore one or more scars on their faces, which were set in what seemed to be a permanent poker face. They seemed tired of the world and all the horrible things that it had to offer, yet, for some unexplained reason, they struggled on. She watched the others as they rode with them. Cameron didn't seem to be enjoying the ride at all, but oddly, he kept his mouth shut. Sarah seemed indifferent, she commented every once in a while, but other than that she was quiet as well. The only people besides Calypso and Mark that seemed to be enjoying themselves were Alexa and Wolf. Wolf would talk while Alexa listened, smiling as she did so. Sometimes she would laugh at something Wolf said, her laugh reminded Calypso of spring rain. Calypso noticed that this was the first time she had heard Alexa laugh a real, honest laugh, which caused her to wonder about that. She turned her attention back to Mark as he began to talk about an incident with a giant squid, when suddenly he went rigid with a familiar look on his face.

"Can you not do that?" she pleaded to him, "that face makes me nervous."

"Sorry, it's just…" then they heard the howls.

"Hellhounds!" Bully yelled.

"Give me a break!" Cameron moaned aloud, "What is it with monsters chasing us?"

"Βόλτα σαν εσένα ουρά του στην πυρκαγιά!" Instantly, the horses broke into a gallop as fast as their legs could carry them. They fairly flew across the landscape as if nothing else existed. Despite their speed the hell hounds closed in, soon, they were among them, snapping at them and the horses.

"Take the reins!" Mark yelled to Calypso, who immediately did so. Mark drew his sword and swung at the closest hell hound, causing it to immediately disintegrate. Calypso noticed that the others were doing the same, but it was Alexa who was really saving the day. With her pinpoint archery she kept the hell hounds at bay, but Calypso was worried that as soon as her arrows ran out they'd be in trouble. As soon as they crossed a small creek though, several horsemen appeared heading straight for them. These horsemen were dressed in traditional Greek armor and cut right through the monster pursuers. What was left of the monster pack scattered in the face of this new enemy, leaving the group of weary riders alone with the strange horsemen. Slowly, the tired band trotted into a camp.

"Welcome to the camp of the Forgotten Demigods." Mark declared wearily. Most of the people in the camp didn't give them a second glance, all of them looked busy doing something. After giving the horses to a short, but kindly looking boy of about ten, they were led into the largest of the tents, which Calypso guessed was the command tent. When they entered the place was a mess, with maps and what looked like battle plans and schematics. The only empty table was one in the center that was surrounded by chairs. Once all of them were seated, Wolf spoke up.

"So… what happened to you?" referring to Mark, "you were sent on assignment to the defense of Manhattan and you disappeared off the face of the earth. Except for that one Iris message we haven't heard from you since."

"We have bigger problems," Mark replied glumly, "I have found a prophecy that may affect us all directly."

"What? You mean the last one didn't?" Knight interjected sarcastically.

"Quiet, let him tell us the prophecy." This time it was Joker who spoke.

_The immortal champion holds the wall_

_The Forgotten's finest doomed to fall_

_An ancient enemy rises again_

_A foe not from the world of men_

The tent was silent, every person lost in his own thoughts. It was Sarah who broke the ice first.

"Let the weak whine and moan of prophecy and fate, I say we write our own lives without worrying about what may or may not occur." Her speech had the desired effect, people nodded their agreement while relaxing visibly.

"Spoken like a true Greek." Wolf commented as he rose from his seat, "let's continue as normal, this never was spoken, understood?" everyone nodded at that. "Good, Trevor!" Trevor ducked into the tent.

"Yes sir?"

"Show our guests where they'll be staying, everyone else is dismissed." As everyone was beginning to leave the tent Wolf called to Mark. "Can I have a word with you?"

"Of course," Mark stayed behind with Wolf in the tent. Once everyone had left Wolf and Mark walked over to a pile of maps.

"Monster patrols are increasing daily, it's becoming near impossible to stay in one place for long. Our last camp…" he pointed to a spot in Michigan, "was nearly discovered by the patrols. We managed to move unseen to where we are now." He pointed to a spot in northern New York. "But patrols are increasing again, with your help I believe we can strike a blow to the monster presence here and make it safe to stay for a longer period of time."

Mark rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "It would be nice to stay in one place for a while…. Who commands the forces here?"

Wolf rummaged through a stack of papers for a moment before finally pulling one out.

"Here it is." Wolf declared as he handed it to Mark. "Pavor, a Laistrygonian, if the paper is correct, last known to be killed during the Revolutionary War."

"Who'd he fight for? The British or Americans?"

"A little bit for each actually."

"Variety is the spice of life, eh?" Mark joked, Wolf chuckled in response.

"Yep," Wolf concurred. Mark read through the report.

"A skilled fighter, but a terrible tactician from the looks of it." He mused aloud. "So, we get rid f him, his forces scatter, giving us a little breathing room, what's the plan?"

Wolf and Mark walked over to another table that held one large map. "We place a fake camp here, on the edge of the forest, in the camp the camp will be a token force of say, ten. Pavor will find it, and he will send forces to attack, when he does, we use our remaining forces that will be hidden in the woods. They will sweep in as cavalry, smashing the enemy on the open field. The monsters will fall back, most likely to their base camp, and then we finish them off!"

Mark nodded. "It's a good plan; I suggest two days preparation before we put it into action."

"Agreed." Wolf stared at the map for moment, and then he sighed sadly.

"You're thinking about the Titan War again, aren't you?"

"43 people died, more than half of us," he looked up at Mark, tears in his eyes. "It's not easy being leader." Mark nodded his agreement. "I failed them, all of them."

"That's not true!" Mark erupted, "They fought and died because they wanted to! No one made them stay and fight, but they stayed anyway." Mark's voice became gentler. "There's no assurance in war that you'll survive, but they fought all the same, and there's only one thing we as the survivors can do."

"What is that?"

"Accept it and move on. But above all else, never forget them, or their sacrifice." Mark ended. Wolf nodded then motioned for Mark to leave, which he did.

* * *

The tour had been interesting. They had been herded around while being shown where they would be staying along with several other important tents, like the smithy. When they got there several kids were hammering away at different pieces of weapons and armor, though they stopped long enough to talk a bit. When Sarah asked why the Spartan's armor looked like something out of a video game, all of them suddenly became extremely interested in their work again. As they all went separate ways Calypso decided to walk a bit in the nearby woods. As she walked and enjoyed nature she kept hearing a whizzing sound. It wasn't loud; if you weren't paying attention you might miss it. Curious, she quietly sneaked in the direction of the noise. As she walked closer the woods began to thin until she found herself on the edge of a small clearing. A small creek ran through it, feeding the lone tree at the center. Within the clearing a kid in Spartan armor, practicing swordplay by himself. As she watched him, she recognized the fighting style, it was Mark's. She began walking up when he stopped swinging his sword around. The helmet flipped back to reveal that it was indeed Mark underneath the husk of metal. He acknowledged her presence with a nod before kneeling next to the creek and washing his face of the sweat from the workout.

"We're alone in the woods so much, tongues are going to begin to wag." He noted as he rose and turned towards her.

"Let them wag, then." Calypso countered as she walked up to him. She examined his armor, which looked much like the other Spartan's armor, except the style looked a bit different.

"The armor is modeled after that of the Japanese samurai, they were great swordsmen." Mark said, as if reading her thoughts.

I see, but why?"

"Because that is the style of swordsmanship I am trained in. my predecessor was of Japanese descent and he was skilled in the art of swordplay." Calypso nodded and her gaze landed on his sword, it was different than the one he had been using.

"What of your sword?" she asked him.

"It's a Japanese katana; it was my teacher's before me. He gave it to me when I took his place, just before he…"

He stopped for a moment, his face turning sad, he looked as if he was battling painful emotions. "He died of cancer two years ago, he was 114, a young age for a champion of Hestia." Tapping some buttons on his wrist, the armor began to morph until it looked like a college jacket.

"You miss him, don't you?" Calypso said as she stepped closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. He nodded but said nothing. An awkward silence ensued before she broke the silence. "Could you teach me?" he looked up, confused. "Teach me the way of the sword."

"Why?"

"In the ancient days, I used magic, I never needed a sword, but now magic has left me, I've never felt so helpless before." She placed her head on his chest. Slowly, Mark wrapped his arms around her.

"Very well, but first," he pulled something out of his pocket and placed it in her hand. She looked at it; it was Mark's magic knife/sword that he normally used. "You'll need this."

Calypso smiled. "Okay Cowboy, let's get started."

* * *

**A/N: Hello! You've wasted another perfectly good part of your day reading this story, but I'm glad that you did! Well, what do you think of my story? I'd love to hear from you! Post in the reviews and give me a little feedback. Oh! And just to give you a heads-up, once this story is over, I am considering a new story based on the Eragon universe. Never read Eragon? I insist that you do. I believe I shall call the story, Halfbreed. If you stick with me in this story (and I remember) I will give you a sneak preview of the new story. Assuming that I actually write a new story.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson series.

* * *

**Scions of Olympus**

"How does he do it?" Wolf asked an empty tent as worked out the details of his plan. It was stressful being leader, he had found this out as soon as they had elected him. All the decisions, the lives hanging in the balance, it was enough to make a man crack from the pressure. Mark, though, never seemed to be stressed, he took everything in stride, and nothing seemed to upset or surprise him. Wolf was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he failed to hear Alexa enter the tent. "How does he do it?" he said aloud once more.  
"How does who do what?"  
Wolf nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled around, weapon drawn. He relaxed when he saw he was in no danger. "By Olympus! Don't scare me like that!"  
"Sorry," she apologized, "I was… just wondering what you were doing." She shyly replied.  
"It's all right," he said as he sheathed his sword, "I'm just working out some details of my plan, and thinking in general."  
Alexa walked up beside him and looked at the map, most of it she didn't understand. "What else were you thinking about?" she asked him.  
"Well, I don't understand how Mark is able to go through all this with a perfect poker-face! Nothing seems to surprise him or put him off."  
"Behind his calm face, I believe he's hiding a whole lot." She pondered aloud. "A deep hurt, a secret, or uncertainty, but he keeps the bold face because others depend on him, and he's afraid of letting them down."  
"I know the feeling." Wolf admitted, it's not easy having people watch you like that."  
"Don't worry, you're a great leader."  
"I hope so." He sighed, "I'd better gather the officers together so we can put this plan into action. As he began to walk out, he stopped, turned around, and kissed Alexa on the cheek.  
"Thanks." With that, he left a blushing Alexa in the tent.

* * *

**One Day before Battle**

Mark was a good teacher. For hours they practiced swordsmanship. At first they started easy, as if they were in slow motion, it reminded Calypso of dancing. Then they began to pick up speed, until they were a blur of motion. After the first day, Calypso was sore, but Mark convinced her to continue the next day. After practice was over, Calypso dropped to her knees next to the creek and began wiping the day's grime of her face. When she was finished she rose and Mark handed her a sack of food. They ate in silence; Calypso was too tired to talk. After the meal Mark helped her to her feet.  
"Come, there's something I want to show you." Mark led her through the woods until they reached a large pile of rocks. Mark placed his hand on one, causing the rocks to part, revealing a staircase downward.  
"Where does this lead?" Calypso asked.  
"Some place special." Mark said no more, but led her downward. As they headed down the rock entrance closed behind them. Oddly, it wasn't dark at all. A dim, blue glow seemed to light their way. Soon, they reached the bottom, revealing huge cave. In the center a waterfall fell into a pool, but the pool never seemed to overflow. One side had furnishings like a house. Another side looked like an armory, another like a place for meditation, and the last one was full of life sized statues of people.  
"Welcome to the Hall of Champions." Mark declared.  
"What is this place?" Calypso asked, awed.  
"It is where I trained as a student, it is my secret place, it is where former champions of Hestia are honored." Mark walked to the statues and stood before one. "In life, this was my teacher, Xavier the Swordsman, as it reads from his pedestal." Calypso walked up next to Mark, looking at the many statues. Each was different, each a memorial. After some time, Calypso turned towards the fall, admiring it. Mark walked up to it and stared down into the water, then he stepped back and motioned for Calypso to do so as well. Somewhat cautiously, she walked up to it and stared down into the water. what she saw caused her to jump back.  
"Is there magic in the water?" she asked, surprised. Mark walked to a nightstand and pulled out a mirror.  
"No, not in the water." He held the mirror for her to look into. She saw the same thing in the mirror she had seen in the water. It looked like her, except instead of looking like she was 16 or 17, like she normally looked; she appeared to look like she was in her twenties. Instead of wearing jeans and a t-shirt, like she had since she had left her island, she was wearing Greek robe, much like she had worn on her island. She looked away from the mirror to Mark. He too, looked in his twenties, and he wore traditional Greek attire.  
"Here, your true self is revealed."  
"Why did you bring me down here?" She asked him, even her voice sounded different, as if she was older.  
"A lot of reasons: so we may speak freely, so I could see you're real face, etc, but I really wanted to show you that I trust and love you enough to share my most secret place with you." No more words were spoken for a itime as they embraced and kissed each other, not as two demigods, but as goddess and champion.

* * *

**5 Hours before Battle**

The entire camp was running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Bolting this way and that preparing for the upcoming battle. It got so bad Sarah left the camp to get a little peace and quiet. War hammer slung over her back, she walked around the outside of the camp. As she wandered, she thought she heard someone yelling. Curious, she followed the noise. Just inside the edge of the woods she found Cameron strung upside down, hanging from a tree, cursing in Greek for all he was worth.  
"Με την από τα νύχια των Hade του!" Why does this always happen to me?" he cried to no one in particular. Then he noticed Sarah standing a few feet from him. "Oh! Shoot!... uh...hi… Sarah.. I.. um.."  
Sarah only shook her head and smiled, barely containing her laughter. Carefully, she cut him down. Even so, he fell with a thud on his head.  
"Why?" he moaned to himself.  
"Aren't you supposed to be lucky?" she asked him.  
""My mother may be the goddess of luck, but not all luck is good. What a lovely place to put a trap! In the middle of the forest!" He grumbled.  
Sarah couldn't hold it in any longer, waves of laughter ruptured forth, no longer to be denied. Cameron only shook his head and began walking to the camp, grumbling the whole way.

* * *

The plan was in action, the stage was set. the fake camp was in place, with a small force already inside. The real force was a little ways away waiting for the call for action. Scouts were in position, watching for the inevitable attack. While he waited, Wolf reminisced on some of the events that had lead him here.

* * *

"Wolf leader! One's on your tail!"  
Acting on the warning, Wolf pulled several tight maneuvers, just barely avoiding the streak of bullets coming from the nazi warplane. in a brilliant move, Wolf managed to get behind his opponent. He squeezed the trigger, releasing a barrage of bullets on the fighter. The 109 burst into flames and plummeted to the ground.  
"Nice shot sir!" Came a voice over the radio.  
"All planes pull into formation." he called into the radio. Obeying orders, the squadron moved into formation and began the flight to home airfield. As they neared their destination, several 109's dived from the clouds, guns ablazing. Pandemonium ensued, several planes were shot down in seconds. As Wolf began to swing his plane around, bullets streaked thru his cockpit, one piercing his leg. Desperately, he swung his crippled plane to a clearing. As it hit the ground he lost consciousness.  
It could have been worse, but that didn't make him feel any better. His lower body had been badly burned, and his leg was broken. On top of all this they sent him back to the states. He was now in a hospital recovering. He would be stuck there for three years. At the beginning of the fourth year he got a surprise visit from his father, Zues.  
"The war in Europe is ending." Zues told him after they had discussed many things.  
"That's what I've been told."  
"Zues then told him of the Pact of the Big Three, then something else. "I'm taking you away from here, to the Lotus Casino, you'll stay there untill I come for you."  
"Are you afraid of the prophecy? That I might fulfill it?"  
"No." Zues stated flatly, "you're past 16, therefore exempt."  
Wolf wasn't sure if he should feel relieved or disappointed. "Then why must I go? and what's special about this place?"  
"You're going because you still have a part to play in history, but not yet. This place, the Lotus Casino, is a place where time stands still."  
"Ok." he said, he was still unsure about all this, but decided to trust his dad on this one. He unsteadily rose to his feet. "Let's go."  
"You must also leave your old life behind, you will go by the name of Wolf for now on."

* * *

Silence, that was all that could be heard. Cameron had been sitting in the saddle for what seemed an eternity, but all he had heard was silence. That fact amazed him. They were on the eve of battle and no one said a word. It had been like this ever since the scouts had been sent to watch the fake camp. Silence, every person in their own thoughts.  
"It has begun." A scout gasped as he ran through the woods towards them.  
"Come on then!" Wolf shouted to them, "Let's remind these monsters how Greeks fight!" A great shout lept from the throats of the warriors as they charged out to meet their foe. When they reached the place of battle, the monsters were caught completely off guard by the reinforcements. What the monster thought would be an easy victory quickly turned into a rout. During the beginning of the action, Cameron had fallen off his horse and fought on foot. Cameron was no doubt a skilled fighter, but his greatest asset was his dumb luck. Often during the fighting a monster would trip or get distracted right as it was about to strike at him. It wasn't long before beleaguered monsters began retreating.  
"Follow them!" Mark shouted among the din of battle. Quickly, Cameron remounted his horse, (which he swore gave him a look of amusement) and followed the others. Within minutes, they had followed the enemy to their camp. Which lay in the center of a small valley area with large rocks seemingly strewn about every which way. The camp itself consisted of one tent, which was probably the command tent. Most of the monsters could be seen loafing around. The monsters were surprised their own running into the camp in panic. They were even more surprised to see a small army of demigods thundering towards them. The rocks forced many of the demigods to dismount and fight on foot.  
"What's going on out here?" came a angry voice from inside the tent. Out came Pavor, looking very irritated. His jaw dropped when he saw his army being torn to pieces in front of his very eyes. He may have been surprised, but he wasn't completely without sense. He yelled and shouted for his forces to rally to him, which they began to do so. Soon, his little pocket force was all that was left, and they were now surrounded by an army of very angry looking demigods. Panic rising within him, he ordered the remainder of his forces to charge through what he thought was a weak point in the circle of half-bloods, in a last ditch attempt to escape. It nearly worked to, but just as they were about to break out, Cameron stepped in the way. Pavor swung wildly at him,k, who ducked then chopped at Pavor's leg. he let out a cry of pain as e stumbled to the ground. With the back of his hand he slapped Cameron aside, sending him flying back several yards. Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone rushing towards him. He had just enough time to turn around and see something rushing towards his face before it took his head off. As he crumbled to dust Sarah brushed some of her armor then checked to see if Cameron was okay. Aside from a few bruises and a couple of colorful insults, he was fine.

* * *

"Quiet the victory, eh?" Mark said to Wolf as they shuffled through the monster's command tent.  
"Yep, except for a few injuries, everyone made it through. We should be able to relax for a bit. With the death of their leader, they'll be much easier to handle.  
"A rest sounds good." Mark said.  
As Wolf sifted through different items he found a paper that looked interesting. "Hmm, this is odd." Wolf mused aloud.  
"What is it?" Mark asked as he walked over to him.  
"This paper, it's written oddly, I can't read it, it's no language I know." he said as he handed it to Mark. He glanced over it, then laughed aloud.  
"You can't read it because it is written in several languages. Some words are German, some Chinese, some Celtic… etc."  
"Can you read it?"  
"Some of it, hmmm… it says: 'You have new orders from… move towards Camp Half-blood… avoid incident… target is.." he stopped for a moment, a frown appearing on his face. "failure unnacceptable… in the name of our general…" he stopped again, his face going through several contortions, he began reading again. "if success, return to these coordinates for new assignment." Mark pointed to some longitude and latitude coordinates. Wolf took the paper from his hand and looked at it.  
"It appears that we've found the base, along with the big cheese."  
"That," Mark whispered to himself, "and more."

* * *

**A/N: So it seems that the big battle is drawing near. Soon, battle lines will be drawn, and the fate of our lovable heroes will be decided. Before the big fight, is there anything you want to see happen first? If so, send me a pm, and I'll see if we can't make it happen.  
Με την από τα νύχια των Hade του!: By the toenails of Hades!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson, or anything related.**

* * *

**Storm on the Horizon**

Mark was distracted, Calypso could tell. He wasn't putting the same effort into their training sessions. It had been three days after they had defeated the monster, but instead of this making him happy, he seemed to be worrying all the more. The day after the battle, Mark moved their lessons down into the sanctuary but he wouldn't explain why. Calypso couldn't stand it any longer.

"What's been bothering you?" She asked once their lesson ended.

"Nothing." Was all he said as he washed his hands and face. Calypso wasn't buying it. Once he finished washing his face she planted himself right in front of him, forcing him to look her in the eye.

"What's wrong?" She asked him again. Mark sighed, and gave a half-smile. He looked tired, as if he had stayed up several nights in a row.

"After the battle, me and Wolf went thru the command tent. Wolf found a paper he couldn't read. While I told him a lot of what was on it, I didn't tell him all of what was written."

"What was on it?" Calypso prodded.

"It was orders for the monsters we killed to track me down."

Calypso gasped lightly. "Why? Why would monsters target you specifically?"

"It's not unusual for monsters to hunt down particularly powerful demigod, but that's not what's worrying me. The one who ordered my capture... His name is... He goes by Diabolos." The room seemed to get darker.

"Who is he?"

"A very old enemy. For 700 years he's hunted the Champions of Hestia. With our blood, he could somehow raise a powerful army and destroy the gods. Long ago one of my predecessors fought him. While he was able to mortally wound him, Diabolos escaped the final blow. Now he is all the more vengeful. Since that time none have been able to find him. On that paper though, were the coordinates to his home."

"What's going to happen? What are the Forgotten going to do?" Calypso was now worried.

"Wolf has sent scouts to check the place out." Mark sat wearily at the foot of the bed. "I know what they'll find, I saw it in a vision last night. An island, in the center there is a tall mountain. Inside hundreds of monsters await, led by my great foe." He seemed to 'space out' for a moment before returning to his senses. "Whether the Forgotten march or not, I have to go."

"You against hundreds! No! You can't go! They'll kill you!" Her voice reached the point of near panic.

"Maybe, but I have no choice, I must go." He shook his head sadly. "Truthfully, I've always fought alone, I've always been alone."

"But you're not alone anymore." Calypso insisted. Mark stared at her as if she had spoken a foreign language. Then, slowly, he broke into a smile.

"You're right, I'm not alone, not since I met you."

Calypso smiled and sat down next to him taking his hand into her own.

"Calypso…" he spoke slowly, as if thinking through every word before he said it. "If I do survive this, will you… no… not now." He seemed to shake himself out of a daydream and said no more.

* * *

Wolf had sent two Spartans to scout the coordinates. Joker and Knight didn't like what they found. The coordinates had first lead them to the ocean. Once they realized that they would have to continue by boat, they trecked twenty miles south to a dock run by Forgotten operatives. There they continued their journey. They followed the coast until they reached the Florida peninsula, then they headed to open see. The ship, called 'Seaman', was a good-sized boat. It had a small cabin which would allow one of the Spartans to sleep while the other drove the boat. From the back it could launch a jet ski, or what Joker called a wave-hopper. Joker had a rough time once they were on the open sea. He got terrible seasickness at the beginning, and remained a shade of green for the remainder of it. Tensions rose as they neared the Bermuda Triangle. Thankfully though, they did not have to enter it. A small dot on the horizon turned into an island, and the island seemed to turn into a mountain. as they closed in, Knight dropped anchor and Joker mounted the jet ski.

"Try not to get spotted, okay?" Knight called to Joker.

"Whatever." He called back. As Joker hit the beach, he was met with silence. Cautiously, he moved forward, closing the distance between him and the mountain. Seeing no visible door nearby he began climbing towards what he thought was a window. As he reached it, it turned out to be more like a bunker. Joker quietly crawled in. The room was filled with dozens of bows and tons of arrows, but no one was around. Slowly, he went deeper in. Hearing a noise, he followed it. After a few moments he reached what looked like a dining hall. Hundreds of monsters were sitting at tables, messily eating lunch. Afraid of being spotted, he began sneaking back the way he came. He climbed quietly out of the bunker and down the mountain. Quickly, he moved across the beach and used the jet ski to return to the boat. They left even quicker then they came, having the information that they came for.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the two Spartans, as they left, Diabolos was discussing strategy with his officers.

"I want the army to be on high alert, they will come soon. We outnumber them, but what they lack in numbers, they make up for in skill and bravery. They are not to be underestimated."

"Yes," concurred one of the officers, an Empousia called Sallee. "They were pummeled in the War, but they're not out yet."

"If they had their full strength strength like they did before the war, then we'd have reason to worry." Noted a lycanthrope (werewolf) captain, named Warmonger.

"We outnumber them nearly ten to one, but they will be determined and relentless," continued Diabolos, "they will fight to the last man."

"What are their military capabilities?" Asked a Dracanae, called Steelskin. Diabolos turned to Sepulchrum Custos, who rose from his chair to speak.

"They can field, at most, 37 soldiers on the field, other than that, we don't know. The Forgotten hide their secrets jealously. Their naval, air, and other capabilities are unknown. What we do know is that they are very resourceful, and will throw everything they have at us." Custos sat back down.

"I want the defenses doubled" Diabolos commanded, "Spare nothing! When they land on the beach, all will fall before our might."

* * *

After a total of one week of being away, Joker and Knight returned with the grim news. The command tent was quiet as everyone digested the information. Finally, Sarah broke the silence.

"Well? What are we going to do?":

"That depends on what everyone believes should be done. Either we go to war, or we sit and wait for our doom to come to us."

"Well then, let's not delay." Cameron said as he stood up, "Let's bring it to a vote."

"Very well," Wolf said as he also stood up. "all those who believe we should go to war, raise your hands." Slowly, hands begin to rise, soon, all hands were raised. "Since we're all in agreement, we must bring this before the entire camp. I will not force them to go if they don't want to. It's likely they won't be coming back." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Within half an hour, the entire camp was gathered. Solemnly, Wolf told them what they had found. The camp listened in silence.. After he finished, he took a deep breath.

"Who is coming with us?" he called to the crowd. At first, none answered. Then someone in the crowd shouted.

"I will go!" The effect was almost immediate. The entire camp began shouting 'ayes' and 'I will'. Soon they were all shouting for them to march. It took Wolf a few moments to get them quiet enough for him to speak. Solemn, but with a hint of pride, he spoke again.

"It is decided then," he said, raising his voice like the great orators of old. "The Forgotten march to war!" A great shout erupted from those present. The Forgotten would march to war, one last time.

* * *

**A/N: The battle lines are drawn. Soon to great armies will collide. Who will come out on top? Only one thing is sure. Not all will come back alive, and none will ever be the same.**

**Sorry if the chapter is a bit short. It's mostly a filler before the real battle begins. Join me then! Feedback is appreciated.**

**Translations and such**

**Diabolos: A name usually used in reference to the devil. In this story, he is the main antagonist. A deadly, mysterious warrior and the enemy of the Champions of Hestia.**

**Sepulchrum Custos: roughly means 'grave keeper'. He is a Cyclopes and Diabolos' highest and most trusted general.**

**Sallee, Warmonger, Steelskin: Known as the 'iron three', they are deadly monsters, and answer directly to Custos. Each leads about 75 troops in battle. **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson, just my own ideas.**

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**To War one last Time**

_Hurrah! Hurrah! We march to war!_

_Through fire and storm we go_

_Only death will stop us now_

_Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!_

_Hurrah! Hurrah! We march to war!_

_Our swords and spears we bear_

_To fight the fight, to fight the war_

_Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!_

_Hurrah! Hurrah! We march to war!_

_The Spartans lead the charge_

_They shall fill the fields with blood_

_Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!_

_Hurrah! Hurrah! We march to war!_

_Until the battle's done_

_Then we receive our just reward_

_Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!_

The fleet of ships sailed in silence. The fleet consisted of seven ships, three of them landing craft. The troops had been packed into the three ships, when the doors opened, the battle would begin. Along with the landing craft were four others. To mortal eyes they would look like large fishing boats, but in reality, the fishing boats were armed with one ballista each. Each could fire a deadly payload of explosive bolts. With a good team, several bolts could be fired a minute.

As they neared the island, Wolf looked through his binoculars. Terence's now lined the beach, barricades had been erected. He could see movement in the mountain bunkers. He pulled out his Walkie-Talkie.

"Hold position." The fleet obeyed and halted.

"Aim." One could hear the moan of mechanics as the ballista picked their targets.

"Open fire!" Four ballista let loose their deadly payload. They were rewarded with explosions and screams of monsters being sent to Tartarus in pieces. Calmly, the ballista were reloaded and fired again. For ten minutes no one moved as the beach was barraged with exploding death. After ten minutes the ballista fell silent and Wolf gave the order. The landing ships gunned their engines and drove towards the southern beach. The occupants of the landers waited in grim silence. Victory was uncertain, and the only thing they were sure of was that death awaited on that island. The doors opened and demigods poured onto the beach. They took their first steps into Hades on earth.

It is hard to describe such a battle. Those who survive such times often never talk of them. When they first stepped off the boats for a second there was silence. Then the arrows began to fly. The initial volley came from the mountain bunkers. Many demigods dove into the craters to avoid the deadly missiles. they would have remained there if it had not been for two factors. The first one was the boats. Seeing that their friends were trapped, they turned their fire on the bunkers. Many were demolished and the monsters in the others were pinned from the incoming fire. The second factor was the Spartans. In their specialized armor, the enemies arrows bounced harmlessly off. The Spartans rallied their comrades and renewed the charge. The monsters in the trenches were shocked to when demigods seemed to pop out of the ground and pour into the trenches. Thus began the most ferocious close combat that many had ever seen. It could rival the fighting in the Battle of Manhattan.

* * *

Cameron found himself right in the thick of it, fighting side by side with Bully, one of the Spartans. A Dracanae charged at Bully. The duel was ferocious but short. Cameron, busy with an enemy of his own, saw a Laistrygonian giant out of the corner of his eye, coming up behind Bully. Cameron had just enough time to yell his warning before the Laistrygonian shoved a spear into the Spartan's back. The spear was mostly stopped by the Spartan's armor, but the giant shoved the Bully to the ground forcing the spear in deeper. Cameron jumped forward and cut the spear in two. The angry giant raised what remained of his spear to smash Cameron, but roared in pain as the now the Spartan had risen to his feet and shoved his sword into the monster's leg. The giant swung his spear at Bully, sending the warrior flying out of the trench. With the monster momentarily distracted, Cameron swung his sword as hard as he could. The celestial bronze blade smashed through the giant's knee, shattering it completely. The giant roared in pain again, and fell to the ground. Cameron promptly executed him, and rushed out of the trench to find Bully. He found him lying on his back in a crater, the head of the spear still in him. As Cameron rushed to his side, the visor flipped open. Revealing the dying Spartan's face.

"Too late for me, I'm done for. Send them to Tartarus for me will you?" The Spartan closed his eyes and spoke no more. Bully would be the first Spartan to die in that battle, but sadly he would not be the last.

Cameron had arrived at Camp Half-Blood after the Battle of Manhattan, so he had never seen someone die before. At first, he was in shocked silence. Tears streamed down his face for a moment. Then, something happened, the tears stopped and he picked up his sword. His eyes showed an anger he had never felt before. With an almost inhuman cry he charged straight into a horde of monsters, without regard to himself or any monster unfortunate enough to get to close.

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All this happened in a few minutes, and all with Diabolos watching from a high window. Although he had been surprised at the boat attack, he wasn't worried. Even though the half-bloods had inflicted many casualties, his own forces were inflicted casualties as well. He had many troops to spare, the Forgotten didn't. They would suffer greatly at every loss.

"I've ordered all our forces that are on the beaches to converge on the demigods, they won't last long against our full force." Custos told his him.

Diabolos smiled, victory was in his grasp. "They may have defeated Sallee's forces, but Steelskin and Warmonger will finish them, permanently."

* * *

Sarah destroyed a hellhound with a swing of her war hammer. As she moved on to her next target she heard a yell.

"Reinforcements on the right!" She was certain they weren't theirs.

"Incoming on the left!" Came another shout. The already weary forces had been caught in a pincer movement. If something didn't happen soon, they'd be surrounded.

"Use the grenades!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. Before the battle, everybody had been given a belt of four grenades. These grenades weren't your normal kind though, these were Triple H G's, or 'Holy Hephaestus Hand Grenades'. They were twice as powerful as normal grenades and were specially built to kill monsters. Grenades were lobbed at the incoming hordes. The explosions devastated the enemy ranks. The monsters began to panic, the once organized attack turned into confusion and disarray. sarah saw on the right flank one monster trying to rally the ranks into an organized assault. Sarah knew if he reorganized the attack, any hope that the Forgotten had would be dashed. With a cry she charged the monster. Seeing her coming the monster easily dodged the first attack. Sarah swung again, only to have her strike parried. She realized she was up against a real swordsman. After several failed swings, she tried something new. She took her war hammer and thrust it out like a spear. The monster had the wind knocked out of him and his head was 'knocked out of him' as well. Sarah didn't realize then that she had defeated the lycan of the iron three.

* * *

Something had gone wrong and Diabolos knew it. Warmonger's forces were in disarray. Explosions had wrecked havoc on both flanks. a worm of doubt was beginning to wriggle into his mind. He turned to Costus, they still had one more card to play.

"Lead the elite forces out of the mountain and attack, our enemy will crack soon."

"As you command." As the cyclopes left, Diabolos turned back to the window and watched the battle. Victory would not elude him for long.

* * *

Alexa sent another monster to Tartarus with an arrow to the face. She seemed to glide across the battlefield, always avoiding the enemies grasp. as she notched another arrow she turned her head towards a rumbling sound coming from the mountain. A large door opened up, and monsters began to pour out. Leading them was a cyclopes in full battle armor carrying a huge hammer. She launched an arrow but it merely bounced off his armor. The reinforcements crashed into what remained to the Greek forces. The already weakened army slowly began to lose ground, slowly being forced back towards the sea. the cyclopes commander seemed unstoppable, smashing all who opposed him. Someone lobbed a Triple H G, which seemed to have some effect, but not enough. Just as their feet began to touch wet sand, Alexa saw Knight charge forward, a grenade in his hand and two full belts slung across his shoulders.

"What are you doing!?" she yelled to him, but she was ignored. He charged ahead, ignoring all else as he raced towards the cyclopes. The monster swung, Knight dodged. In an incredible display of acrobatics he managed to get on the cyclopes head. Pulling the pin, he shoved the grenade into the monsters mouth, but instead of jumping away he gripped the monsters neck and held on for all he was worth.

"Jump away!" Alexa's scream was unanswered.

Just before the explosion of the first grenade she felt someone grab her, throw her to the ground, and get on top of her. The explosion was deafening, those who didn't cover their ears would find themselves temporarily deaf. The explosion was huge, the first grenade caused all the others on Knight's belts to blow as well. The explosion would kill dozens of nearby monsters while monsters and demigods alike were thrown to the ground. A few seconds after the explosion, the body that had covered Alexa rolled off. As it did she realized that it had probably saved her life, since she had been pretty close to the explosion. She turned towards her savior and recognized the Spartan armor, it was Wolf's.

"Wolf!" She screamed, only to realize that she couldn't hear herself. She leaned over him and tapped the helmet in several places until she found the right button. The visor flipped open to reveal Wolf's face. He tried to say something but all she heard was a dull, unintelligible whisper. Slowly, her hearing began to come back. Wolf coughed, blood dripped down the side of his head.

"You ok?" he asked her.

"Yes, but are you?"

"Yes," he winced in pain. "No, my arm…"

Alexa gasped when she saw his left arm, or, what was left of it. The cyclopes hammer had been ripped to pieces in the explosion, but a large piece had severed Wolf's arm. All that was left was a stub of his shoulder. Beginning to panic, she managed to bandage it the best she could, then she ran to get Calypso. Eventually she found her amidst the chaos and brought her to Wolf. Calypso used all her skill to keep Wolf from bleeding out or going into shock. During this time, the monsters were in full retreat. With the death of their leader they lost heart. What was supposed to be a victory, turned into a rout for the monsters. No monster would leave that island alive. Though the devastation in the monster ranks was total, the casualties to the Forgotten was devastating. In that moment of bittersweet victory, no one noticed that Mark was missing.

* * *

When the doors had opened to allow the reinforcements, Mark had rushed inside. In the depths of the mountain, his fate would be decided.

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**A/N: Hello! I managed to get this written a week ahead of schedule! Huzzah! But don't expect this to be a trend. I welcome your feedback, it's how a writer get's better. I have to say, it was difficult writing this chapter. I wanted it to be an epic final battle and I hope I've reached your expectation. The next chapter will be the final showdown. Meet me then! And tell me what you think!**

**PS: By the way, the chant at the beginning of the chapter was written by me, hope you like it. It's the chant that the Forgotten do as they prepare for war.**


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